Wednesday, May 09, 2012
4:30 PM - 6:15 PM
La Kretz Hall 110

About the Talk

Japan is the First World country most dependent on imports of renewable natural resources.  One might therefore naively predict that Japan's self-interest would cause it to be the world's leading promoter of sustainability.  Paradoxically, the reverse is true.  Why is Japan often opposed to sustainable policies, what is the history of Japan's attitudes towards accessing overseas resources, and what does the future hold for Japan?

About the Speaker

Jared Diamond is a Professor with UCLA's Department of Geography. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, England. His research interests are geography and human society and biogeography. He is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book "Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies," published in 1998.